Batting

New York, NY- The Brown University softball team (5-13, 2-2 Ivy) picked up its first two Ivy League wins of the year after defeating Columbia 8-0 in five innings and 6-5 in seven innings in the second game of the doubleheader this afternoon.

Senior Kate Strobel (Denver, CO) led the offense going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored, and sophomore Kelsey Williams (Greenwood, IN) went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI.

In game one, the Bears got the bats rolling early scoring three runs in the second inning. With one out, Williams singled to left field to bring home freshman Kelsey Hom (Santa Monica, CA), who had doubled to left field. Then, junior Erika Mueller (Steilacoom, WA) reached first on an error to score senior Alyssa Caplan (San Mateo, CA). The third run scored when Mueller stole second and Williams crossed home on an error by the catcher.

Brown tacked on another run in the third with junior Stephanie Thompson (Chino, CA) hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home sophomore Danielle Palms, (Smithfield, RI) who got on from a double. In the fourth, the Bears tallied two runs when Strobel hit an RBI single and Silverstein scored on a throwing error.

The Bears ended the game when they scored two more runs in the fifth when Thompson scored after an error, and a Williams double scored freshman Trista Chavez (San Pedro, CA). Brown's Denise van der Goot (Pasadena, CA) shut down Columbia in the final inning to earn the 8-0 win in five innings. Van der Goot (1-3) allowed just four hits and struck out five Lions while earning her first win of the year.

Columbia's Kalli Schultea received the loss giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits to drop to 3-8 on the season.

In game two, the Bears jumped to a 5-0 lead after five innings of play, but the Lions made a comeback scoring five runs in the final two innings.

Strobel hit an RBI double to right field to tally Brown's first run of the game in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Palms singled up the middle to bring in Williams, and a Thompson single to right field brought in both Strobel and sophomore Jen Kries (Mission Viejo, CA) giving Brown a 4-0 lead. The fourth run of the inning scored when Palms went home on a wild pitch to take a 5-0 lead.

Columbia finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Morgan Cook doubled down the left field line to cross Allison Lam. The Bears tacked on another run in the top of the seventh, but Columbia made a big run scoring four runs in the bottom of the frame coming within one of the Bears.

Freshman Jessica Cherness (Torrance, CA) received the win to improve to 4-5 on the year, while van der Goot picked up a save after getting one out with the bases loaded. Cherness gave up five runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings and struck out five Columbia batters. Columbia's Brooke Darling was handed the loss to drop to 4-9 on the year.

Brown will now head back to Rhode Island to host Cornell at 2 p.m. on April 6, and Princeton at 12:30 p.m. on April 7.